Ezra 4:18-21

Ezra 4:18 -21 The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me (King Artaxerxes). And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them. Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. The outsiders who were jealous of the Jews rebuilding Jerusalem had their opportunity. As soon as the new king found out that the Jews had a reputation of rebellion, he commanded that the construction be stopped. The troublemakers finally had their way. Nothing could be done. Do you think that the Jews were disappointed? Can you imagine how they felt as they woke up every morning and looked at the piles of building materials? They couldn’t use them. They just sat there. I imagine that once again they began to pray to the God of heaven. I imagine that they told God that they were trying to rebuild His Temple. But it would be 80 years until they would get permission to start building again. They had to be patient and just wait. But God was working in the Persian throne room. When King Darius came to power, he had a trusted advisor named Daniel. And Daniel was a faithful servant of the most High God. Don’t ever forget, God is in control and God answers prayer. It may take some time, but God answers prayer.

Ezra 4:1-4

Ezra 4:1-4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel; Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, As the people of God began to build, they had other people who caused trouble for them. At first the troublemakers pretended that they wanted to help in rebuilding the Temple to God. But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua knew their wicked hearts. Zerubbabel, and Jeshua knew that they just wanted to get inside to see what was going on so that they could defeat the building program from the inside. So when the Jews would not let the outsiders help, they got mad and began to openly cause trouble. They threatened to tell the king of Persia on the Jews. But Zerubbabel and Ezra had permission from the King of Persia, Cyrus the Great! The troublemakers couldn’t do anything as long as Cyrus was on the throne. But when the next king came to power, things changed. That is the way it is in life. When you want to do the right thing, there are going to be people who will oppose you. May be the project that you are doing wasn’t their idea and they are jealous. Or it could be that they don’t like the things of God and they just want to make trouble for those who do like God. But be assured, there will be trouble. But like Zerubbabel, and Jeshua; just be ready for opposition. Stand firm and serve God. He will take care of the opposition. He is in control.

Ezra 3:10-13

Ezra 3:10-13 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. The Children of Israel were so excited to rebuild their Temple to God! They had a big dedication day with everyone dressed up in their finest. They had trumpeters and singers along with prayers and sacrifices to God. But there was a problem. The younger people were so glad to see the Temple foundation started. But the older people remembered how glorious the old Temple had been. They were sad that the new Temple was going to have to be so plain. So on the dedication day, some people were excited and shouting for joy while others were weeping aloud in sad remembrance. But the people around Jerusalem only heard a great noise. They couldn’t tell the difference between joy and heartbreak. They only knew that the Jews were celebrating before their God. And they were impressed at the noise! Whether in song or in grief, God was being praised!

Ezra 3:1,4,7

Ezra 3:1,4,7  And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia. Once the Jews were back in their land, they worked hard on their homes and on the Temple. They began to keep the feasts that Moses had established in the book of Exodus. They separated themselves from wicked people who had moved into their land after they were removed to Babylon. The people began to set aside money to give to skilled workers, who rebuilt the beautiful Temple. Our verses say that the workers were paid in food. The Jews further sent to Lebanon for huge cedar trees which were floated down the river to the ocean and on to the Jewish seaport of Joppa. Cedar smells so sweet and is straight and strong wood. It is perfect for a beautiful house for God. Because the people were so careful in rebuilding the Temple, we can tell that they cared about doing their best for God. That is a good example for us. Do we care about God? Do we give Him our best? Do we do our best work at church? Are we careful as we do our memory verses in Master Club? Wow! That is a lot to think about.

Ezra 2:1,2a,64

Ezra 2:1,2a,64 Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; Which came with Zerubbabel: The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore, Ezra was the priest who went from Babylon to Jerusalem and Zerubbabel was the leader of the people. 42,360 is a lot of people, but only a tiny leftover of the great nation of Israel that existed under King Solomon, the last mighty king of Israel. What a sad little rag tag group. But they were excited to go back. Most of them had been born in Persia, modern day Iraq and Iran. Some of the old people remembered the old days in Jerusalem. They were nervous to return; partly because they were old and traveling was hard for them, and partly because they were afraid of what they would find when they returned home. They knew Jerusalem had been destroyed, but they had to see for themselves. Zerubbabel led the people and Ezra was in charge of the Temple supplies. God had taken care of His people, even though they had been rebellious. God had taken care of them even though they hadn’t deserved it. But that is just the way that God is. He is just and right, but He is also loving, kind, and forgiving. But best of all, God keeps His word. He would not let Israel down. And God will not let you down! He will take care of you and always meet your needs. Do you remember the last thing we heard last night? God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good.